KUALA LUMPUR – Close to 500 cyclists were left dumbfounded and furious upon finding out that the organiser of a cycling programme they had registered and prepared for had bailed out on them on the very day the event was scheduled to be held at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, here, last Sunday.
They were there to participate in the “Enduride Challenge” and “Fun Ride with Stars” activities – scheduled by MyCycleXpo 2022 (Malaysia International Cycle Expo) as part of its inaugural cycling exhibition from July 29 to 31.
Participants had gathered since 6.30am and waited for hours, but were left confounded by the fact that the organising team was nowhere to be found.
Many of them asked and looked around for the person in charge, but no one knew anything about the event being cancelled or even whether it was postponed.
We waited since 6.30am, but nothing was ready. No emcee announcement, no decoration and the starting point looked empty.
“At about 7am, one of the organising staff showed up to make an announcement, saying we have to wait for police to escort the riders. So we waited again,” participant Alvin Wong told The Vibes.
“After much delay, the organiser finally told us that they have to cancel because police did not show up.”
Another participant, who requested not to be named, said he and about 20 of his friends had spent RM95 each for the registration fee.
“We waited until 8.30am when somebody said they were still waiting for the police outriders.
“We lost our patience and some of us decided to leave and ride on our own.”
A Facebook user, meanwhile, commented that he had driven from Kelantan to take part in the event, while his friend had flown in from Sabah. They demanded a full refund for the travelling expenses they had to bear.
On the night before the event, the organiser had posted on its official Facebook page “See you tomorrow!”, which seemed normal to the participants as they expected everything to go smoothly the next day.
However, it was not until 11.41am on Sunday that MyCycleXpo officially announced on Facebook that it “had to cancel the enduride and fun ride as the person in charge, who is the event organiser, did not turn up.”
MyCycleXpo went on to explain that it did its best to ensure that everyone received their race jerseys, t-shirts and medals, before denying it had avoided responsibility.
Yesterday, it posted an update to speed up the refund process, but at the time of writing Alvin said that they had not received anything yet.
In the advertisement to promote the event, the organiser had said that the Enduride Challenge was open to 1,000 participants for the 100-km ride, while the 30-km Fun Ride was open to 2,000 participants.
MyCycleXpo, organised by Rise International Sports Exhibition Sdn Bhd, was touted as serving as a platform for manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers, as well as local retailers and international industry players.
The Vibes made several attempts to contact the organiser through calls and text messaging, but so far there has not been any response. – The Vibes, August 4, 2022
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